


Arctic Chess

by Ikikuka



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: 1809, Historical, Historical Hetalia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-01-24 09:59:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18569077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ikikuka/pseuds/Ikikuka
Summary: They have been together for years, longer than either can remember. But nothing in this world stays unchangeable and Sweden and Finland will find this out the hard way





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> An old remake of my even older story, a translation to be exact so I'm sorry if there are mistakes. Mostly Sufin, but it's possible there are some other pairings. Includes also weird headcanons.

**3th of May, 1808**

“I found you ~.” Maybe he could try to hide himself in a crack on the tall stone walls? Maybe he would be able to go back there where he had come to the island and sneak the same way out of here? The place was probably crowded with soldiers now, but he had to try. He would need to find Sweden, he would have an understandable explanation for all this and he would know what they should do next.

There was no way he would have led him to this trap on purpose, was there?

“Stop!”

The sound of shot echoed in the otherwise quiet night.

 

**8th of January, 1808 - Finland**

_Some months earlier…_

The space on the bed beside Finland was empty when he finally opened his drowsy eyes. For a sleepy second, he wasn’t sure had Sweden even been there for real, or had his return been just a dream. 

The sheets on his side of the bed were still lingering with warmth. They smelled just like him, a pleasant scent of ocean salt, mountain brooks and frosty fields of snow, which proved Finland wasn’t only imagining him being there last night. He had really arrived home yesterday from Russia’s place, after being away for months. A warm, comforting feeling filled his body, he had missed him. 

But Sweden still refused to tell him what was going on and why he had so many long meetings with different countries. Which was really nothing new to Finland, but Sweden had become even more secretive during the recent years. Secretive, and for some reason, distant.

With a sigh, he moved his blanket aside and got to his feet. Still half-asleep, he walked to peek out of the window just to prove to himself that spring was still far away, one day closer than it had been yesterday but still days away, before he got dressed and took care of the other morning routines.

He needed desperately a cup of coffee if he wanted to finally get his eyes fully open, he decided and headed towards their small kitchen. They probably didn’t have any coffee beans left, they were rather expensive even though they had become legal again already six years ago, but he still hoped he would be pleasantly surprised. Somewhere could be a bag of beans he had just forgotten somewhere, when they had been forbidden, he and Sweden had sometimes hid them around the house. That had never happened before, but maybe this time!

Sweden was already in the kitchen, sitting at the table. He was eating while he studied something that looked like a map to Finland. He had been so exhausted yesterday they had exchanged only a few words before he had gone to bed, and now he was working again. That couldn’t be good for his health.

“Good morning.” Finland wished, trying his best to sound cheery and well rested, before he began to look for coffee beans from the kitchen cabinets. He put his hope in the highest cabinets, those that were out of his reach without a chair.

Sweden raised his head up, a momentary surprise flashed in his otherwise stoic eyes before they moved to look at the map again. Then he rolled it up and put it back in his traveling bag. Finland couldn’t help but wonder had he tried to hide it from his sight, or didn’t he just need it anymore.

“Mornin’.” Sweden answered to him and continued to eat his breakfast, “Ya woke up early.”  

“Do you like it?” Finland asked. It had started to look like he wouldn’t get his coffee today. Not a single bean anywhere, not a good start for the day. Then again, Sweden was back, so that balanced the situation.

“Hm?” Sweden looked at him absentmindedly. 

“Your breakfast. I tried a new recipe yesterday” Finland said and nodded towards Sweden’s plate. Fresh fish, first salted for preservation and then mixed with some applesauce and grains. I tried to make it taste sweet but still feel like a proper meal, but I think something is still missing.”

“It’s… very fillin’” he said, after considering for a moment. Not exactly the reaction Finland had hoped for, but like he had said, it still needed something. Then it would be just perfect, he thought and took a wooden plate from the cabinet for himself. He would need to settle for breakfast without a nice cup of hot and godly liquid.

“Did you remember to say hi to Estonia and Latvia for me?”

Finland asked and sat at the table. It had been a quite long time since he had seen either of them. Both of the nations used to live with them, but then a huge war against Russia, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Lithuania and Saxony had happened. He had been kidnapped by Russia along with Estonia and Latvia, and Russia had used him as a hostage, promising to give him back to Sweden without a fight only if Sweden agrees to sell the duo to him without a fuss.

And that was the reason why they lived with Russia now. It had been a really nightmarish time for Finland, he didn’t usually want recall those horrible years.

He had actually seen them some years after the war, when Sweden’s plan to conquer them back had failed and he had been captured again, but this was a touchy subject as well, for a little bit different reason. Maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned them to Sweden at all, he had done something really imprudent, selfish even, during his captivity and he was pretty sure it still bothered Sweden, even though they had managed to return back together this time too. But ever since everything had been somewhat different between them.

“Yes, I did.” Sweden nodded his head and then fell silent again. Usually that wouldn’t have bothered Finland, Sweden never talked that much, but now it was clear as day that something was wrong. He didn’t even mention how Estonia and Latvia were doing. Just when he was about to ask what was going on, Sweden continued to talk, but about a totally different subject.

“Do you remember wh’t I told ya about Sveaborg?” 

“It’s impossible to forget, Sve. You remind me about it every time you leave somewhere.” Finland chuckled, but become more serious when he saw the expression on Sweden’s face, “Yes, I remember Sveaborg. You want me to go to the fortress if something serious happens while you are gone.” he repeated the frequently heard sentence. At least that made Sweden to look a little bit more relaxed.

“Why are you asking?”

Sweden pushed his almost empty plate aside before he answered, he looked a bit uncomfortable “I need to leave soon again. The boss w’nts to hear about the current situation d’rectly from me. And… I need to meet some allies along the way, too…”

“You are going to Stockholm?” Finland couldn’t hide the disappointment from his voice, “But… when?”

“As soon as p’ssible.” Sweden said, trying now to avoid his gaze, “Maybe already t’morrow, or the day after, we will see.”

He should have expected something like this. He didn’t know all the details, but he knew a great war was raging in Europe, once again. France had become too powerful with the lead of his new boss, a strategic genius called Napoleon, and somehow Sweden had gotten himself involved in the power battle of the great powers by joining in the anti-Napoleon league with England and his brothers.

“Why can’t I just come with you? I haven’t seen Stockholm or our boss in ages. And two people could take care of the work twice as fast, and then we could still have enough time to do something fun together. Oh, I know, we could raid the royal bakeries together, think about all the almond paste!”

Finland asked, even the mere thought made him beam. He had told Sweden more than once, that if he wanted them to be a real couple, he would need to give him more responsibilities. He couldn’t say they were married when Sweden was a real country and Finland was just his province whom Sweden expected to stay at home, safe and sound. There had never been anything serious between a country and their province, that simply didn’t happen or at least everybody always thought it was just for some fun and that couldn’t be something deeper. But usually Sweden avoided the whole topic.

“The boss thinks it would w’rry the public if we both leave all the sudden. Everybody needs to st’y calm and continue their lives like before.” Sweden explained to him.

That did sound reasonable enough, but Finland wasn’t sure was it the whole truth. This didn’t use to be a problem before, they used to do almost everything together. So, either Sweden was being overly-protective again because of what had happened years ago with Russia or there was some other reason why he didn’t want him there with him.

He watched as Sweden stood up and collected their plates from the table. Flower-Egg barked again in the other room, she never came to the kitchen when they were eating, for some reason she had never liked his cooking and was afraid he would give her treats. She was a weird dog.

“So… you are you going to talk about the meetings you had with Russia with the boss?” Finland asked somewhat cautiously and then went to let Flower-Egg out. The fluff-ball ran immediately out of the door and headed towards the nearby forest, yapping like a maniac. Her behavior had been a bit bizarre lately, but she didn’t seem to be sick or anything, so Finland wasn’t too worried about her.

“Yes. And about the g’neral situation in Europe, too.” Sweden answered, and after pondering something for a few moments, he walked over to him, just to wrap his arms around him. His warm hug felt comforting, he had felt a little bit distractible until now, but he probably was just so tired from all the work. Or was it something else? What had happened in Russia’s place? He hadn’t hugged him for a long time…

“And are there… any new future conquests I should know about?” Finland said, and regretted the question almost immediately. This was not the right time to be paranoid! He felt Sweden’s body turn tense and then he broke from the hug, looking at him questioningly.

“All the plans r’lated to Norway have been postponed. I thought I already told ya that?” Sweden said, still observing him with his gaze. At least he knew immediately what plans he had meant about, was that a good or a bad thing?

“You probably did,” Finland admitted, chuckling sheepishly, “But I thought the situation might have changed now that you have new strong allies. Denmark wouldn't stand a chance against us now.”

Sweden didn’t answer anything to him, he just shook his head. To tell the truth, Finland didn’t quite understand this sudden eagerness to acquire Norway, the plan had been only postponed, after all. Did Sweden miss someone who was truly an equal with him? Norway was an actual country, unlike Finland. Maybe they would have a lot more in common?

And Sweden and Norway had known each other since they had been just toddlers, they had even been in a union together, even though it had happened when Finland had already lived with Sweden and they all had been so young Finland wasn’t even sure could you call that a marriage. Maybe there had been something between the two, the thought made Finland feel uncomfortable for some reason.

Or maybe Sweden just shouldn’t leave him alone for such a long period of times, he had nothing else to do than imagine all kind of scenarios in his head. Finland shook his head slightly, like trying to clear bad thoughts from his head. Sweden wasn’t like that, he would tell him if he wasn’t happy with him.

“Well, if you ever change your mind, I’m ready to help.”

“I know.” Sweden answered shortly, but Finland was able to hear from the tone of his voice that he really meant it. It was really reassuring to hear he still had trust in him, despite everything that had happened.

“Do you know what I would love to do right now?” he smiled at Sweden, with a simple sentence he had managed to brighten his day.

“What?” Sweden’s turquoise eyes turned to look at him again.

“To go for a nice refreshing morning walk! I think it would help me to wake up, we don’t have any coffee left.” he almost whimpered the last words, “And you will come with me, you need a break from work.”

This made Sweden to look out of the window. The snow was falling slowly down from the clearing sky, and the cold temperature had made the birch trees freeze the way it looked like they were coated with hundreds of tiny diamonds. The nature truly showed its beauty.

“I could show you places,” he continued to persuade when Sweden didn’t look very enthusiastic about the idea. “A lot has changed while you were visiting Russia’s place.”

Sweden shook his head, a tiny smile lingered on his lips “Fine.”, he finally said, giving up his useless resolve. “I will t’ke a short break.”

 

**11th of January, 1807 - Sweden**

Sweden didn’t do or say anything, he just silently complied when the determined hands pushed him to lay down, his head dropped softly on the pillows. He looked so beautiful, Sweden thought just a moment before those hands started to explore his bare chest, massage his tired muscles. He had craved his touch for many years now, and even though his head said they shouldn’t continue any further, his body disagreed. No, that was an understatement, it wanted to be an active participant in this.

He wasn’t even sure anymore how they had ended in bed, the plan had been to discuss about the current situation and maybe make some plans together, but then either of them had complained about the coldness, and the situation had somehow led to another. Maybe he shouldn’t have come here at all, maybe he should have traveled straight to Stockholm from Russia’s place.

-

_“So? What do you think of the plan?”_

_The man asked and leaned closer to Sweden. The expression on his face was almost childishly curious, his violet eyes sparkled with excitement, but Sweden didn’t let his guard down, no matter how friendly he acted right now, this man was Russia. A large country in the peak of his power, the very same man who had violently teared his empire apart just a century ago. He had lost Estonia and Latvia… and almost Finland, too. The two of them lived now here, in Russia’s huge manor. He shook his head._

_“No deal, Russia.”_

_“I knew you would say so, Sweden! You always try to be the man of your word, right?” Russia chuckled as if he had just cracked a good joke, Sweden knew he wouldn’t give up so easily. He never did._

_“You aren’t that good friends with England and his brothers. You aren’t like Portugal who’s eternally loyal to his friend. An admirable trait in a country, but a bit naïve.”_

_“England is my ally now.” Sweden simply stated. That should be a good enough reason not to listen anything Russia tried to suggest to him “I’m not goin’ to stab him in the b’ck.”_

_“Ah, but switching to France’s side could be so much more beneficial to you! Everyone has their price, Sweden. What is yours?”_

-

When the hands suddenly stopped their movements, Sweden’s hungry turquoise eyes glanced briefly into his partner’s violet eyes. He smiled back at him a bit mischievously, a sight that always made Sweden’s heart to leap, and then leaned in to press his lips on Sweden’s neck. His soft, breathy kisses made Sweden’s whole body to shiver, the growing anticipation tortured him as his partner moved slowly higher, first to his jawline and then he captured his lips with his own.

If he was wise, Sweden thought as their kiss got deeper, he would end this right now. But all he could think about was how nice this felt after the long period of loneliness. They both had felt it, and now, after losing the control, they refused to let go. He wrapped his arms around his partner and got lost in the kiss.

-

_The liquid burned Sweden’s throat when it went down._

_He should be at home right now, not in this strange house eating and drinking while the master of the house tried to persuade him with several different ways to abandon his alliance with England. How long he had been here already? Weeks? Several months? There was nothing France or Russia could give to him that would make him change his mind._

_His host looked at him, he didn’t smile as much as he had done when he had first arrived here._

_“All you need to do is to stop trading with England, we aren’t being unreasonable here.” Russia said, even the tone of his voice wasn’t so polite anymore, “Then he will be isolated on his island without any food or friends. We both know he loves being lonely and miserable, but even he can’t survive without food. He will be forced to surrender to France eventually. Only you, Portugal and Denmark still stand in France’s way.”_

_“Is England really so important to you?” Russia asked when Sweden didn’t answer anything to him. Sweden could have sworn that Russia had drunk more than he had, but for some reason he wasn’t even slurring his words and his eyes were as vigilant as ever. Was he only pretending to drink and tried to get him drunk and more vulnerable again?_

_“The trade with h’m is too important.” Sweden nodded his head and put the empty glass on the table, “And I don’t like wh’t France is doing, occupying almost the wh’le Europe in the name of self-defense. I can’t stand that N-napoleon of his. There is no way I will b’come yer and France’s ally in this situation.”_

_“Don't kid yourself, Sweden! He’s only doing what we both would do if we were in the same situation.” his negotiation partner chuckled and_ poured _him a new drink. He was not going to drink it._

-

When their lips finally parted, the taste of his partner’s magnificent green forests, freshwater lakes and bitter northern winds still lingered on Sweden’s tongue. His partner smiled at him, and Sweden wasn’t sure was it the very moment when he finally decided to surrender to his urges or had it been clear from the very start. He shook his head slightly, mostly to himself. He wanted more, this small sample wasn’t enough anymore, he wanted to feel him properly as part of him once again.

He pulled him into an embrace, and for a short while they just stayed there silently together, listening each other’s breathing, enjoying the warmth. Then he raised his hands again on his partner’s waist and rolled them efficiently around. For a moment his partner looked at him puzzled, like wondering how he had suddenly ended under Sweden, but then he gave him a chuckle and rolled his eyes. There was no hint of fear in his curious eyes, they were rather saying ‘fine, let’s do it your way, then ‘, and it made Sweden feel ever more overjoyed, he didn’t experience this complete lack of fear with many people. It was rare for him to feel such kind of connection with anyone, he thought and started then slowly to unbutton his partner’s shirt.

It was Sweden’s turn to tease him, to explore and map him with his mouth until he couldn’t take it anymore, Sweden thought, and after he got rid of his shirt, he moved his hands to his partner’s buckle and started to undo the belt.

-

_“Why are ya doin’ this?” Sweden asked. Russia had never really answered to the question._

_“What do you mean?” Russia asked lazily. Sweden’s stubbornness was probably getting on his nerves already. He wasn’t having fun anymore._

_“Why are you doin’ France’s dirty w’rk for him? What ya get in return?” Nothing in this world was free, after all._

_“I’ve been promised a small payment for my hard work if you turn out to be a really difficult country to persuade. Which seems to be the case.” he shrugged his shoulders, “I didn’t choose to be his ally, but I have to play with the cards I was dealt. That’s what wise men do, I’m not like you who tries to defy their fate.”_

_Sweden only nodded his head to him, “Then m’ybe you should just take what you were pr’mised and leave me finally alone. Tell France that I’m not g’ing to change my mind.”_

_“Really Sweden? Do you really want me to do that? You’re so funny…”_

-

Sweden sighed with pleasure as their bodies continued to rock in the same rhythm. He pressed his lips softly on his partner’s warm shoulder, murmuring his love for him even though he wasn’t sure did he even hear him. He wanted to be as gentle as possible so this would be as pleasant and enjoyable to him as it was to Sweden.

Despite caring for his partner's wellbeing, he couldn’t wonder was he a little bit selfish; after losing his empire, he had decided to keep a certain distance to everyone so no one would get the idea to blackmail him by using the ones he cared about.

But perhaps he was weaker than he had thought; he couldn’t resist the urge to feel him under him – or anywhere, it didn’t really matter - moaning and repeating his name unintentionally. He wanted to feel him wrapped tightly around him, just the way he was right now, to give and get absolutely pleasure. He wanted to kiss him everywhere, to taste his pine forests, fresh lakes and northern wind, he just wanted to be able to love him.

There was no way they could be just friends, no matter what he had decided earlier or what problems it could cause for the both of them.

-

_“How is Finland doing?” Russia’s sudden question made Sweden almost choke in his drink. It was the first time that name was mentioned during the negotiations._

_“None of yer business.”_

_“Oh, come on Sweden, don’t be like that. I had him for a while, he fitted really well with the rest of my little collection, I just wanted to know how he’s doing now. But maybe my question just reminder you that your relations haven’t been the same since I kindly gave him back to you. Poor Sweden, it must be hard for you to be betrayed like that.”_

_“I have no idea what you are t’lking about. We are fine.” Sweden mumbled through the gritted teeth. Maybe there were some problems, but Russia was the last person he would talk about them to._

_“Is that the reason you now have plans towards your western neighbor? Weren’t you two pretty close once, Norway and you, hm?” Russia’s voice sounded innocent, but his smirk revealed the true nature of the question._

_“Yer intelligence agency has m’de a mistake. There are no such pl’ns.”_

_“Fine, you can pretend it’s still a secret. But haven’t you realized that allying with me and France could help you to implement the plans. We could help you two to get back together if you join your forces with us.”_

_“Haven’t ya still realized that a no means no?”_

_“You should consider my offer, it would be easier for everyone…”_

-

Sweden couldn’t sleep, no matter how good he still felt and how tightly his partner had curled up next to him. The stressful thoughts that had bothered his mind for weeks tried to get the upper hand again, he had only managed to suppress them momentarily.

He hated this uncertainty, hated how helpless he felt himself. He tried his best to be the very same kingdom he used to be, the powerful one that was respected by all and what his boss wanted him still to be, but it had become really hard after he had lost his status as an empire. The big boys didn’t let him play with them anymore, they ignored him when it was beneficial to them, or used him as their pawn when he was useful for them. How could he ever get used to that when he had been in the same position as them only a moment ago? Had he been like that, too? Probably, he had still plenty of enemies.

He even kept his problems with France and Russia secret from Finland, even though his smaller province could get involved in this mess at any moment. He should know everything, Sweden knew that, but once again he had stayed quiet.

Then there was this other problem he hadn’t told him about either, he thought, and glanced then the sleeping man next to him.

Norway.

When would he tell him the truth about Norway?

He rose up to sit on the edge of the bed, trying to move quietly so he wouldn’t wake up his partner. He rubbed his tired eyes; he had wasted enough time already. Not that he regretted anything that had happened here today. No, now it was clear how they felt about each other, there was no more need for pretending.

He took his glasses from the small night table before he moved to pick up his partner’s clothes from the floor. He folded them neatly on the nearby chair before he got dressed and walked out of the bedroom. He would leave to Stockholm right now; he should have done so right after he left from Saint Petersburg. After that, after his boss would figure out what they should do, he would try to explain everything to Finland.

He took his traveling bag from the corner of the kitchen and started to search through it, moving all the maps of the northern Europe out of the way. He needed to find an empty piece of paper so he could leave a small note for his partner, he slept so soundly Sweden didn’t have heart to bother him right now. He decided to keep the message short and simple, they could talk again when he would come back from the meeting. 

When he was putting the paper on the table, a weird, ominous feeling, like a knot in his stomach, suddenly took a hold of him, but only for briefly. He shrugged it off, most likely he was just so stressed, he thought as he closed the front door behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

**6th February, 1808 - Sweden**

The streets of Stockholm were covered with a thin layer of ice, and Sweden hoped he wouldn’t slip and fall. He tried to hurry his steps, the journey here had lasted longer than he had excepted, he didn’t want to late from the appointment with his boss, too.

Despite the freezing coldness, the citizens of the city were doing their everyday chores. As he continued to walk towards the royal palace, some of them turned to look at him when he walked past them. They probably instinctively knew he wasn’t just an ordinary mortal, perhaps some of them even recognized him as their country despite the heavy clothing he was wearing… or maybe he just freaked them out, that happened pretty often, too. Way too often, he didn’t like it, especially when it was his own people who reacted that way, so he was quite pleased when he finally saw the magnificent building his boss called his humble home.

Naturally, there was nothing humble about the palace, there weren’t very many people in the world who were able to say that one of their homes had over 600 rooms, Sweden thought as he walked through the gate and then towards the guards who were already alerted by his presence. He patted his pocket to make sure he still had the royal seal in there. It was possible they would know who he was even without it, but formalities were formalities, he couldn’t avoid them.

“Halt! This area is prohibited from uninvited guests. Can I have your name and the reason you are here, sir?” one of the four guards said to him.

“Berward Oxenstierna. I’m here by the order of the k’ng.” Sweden answered and then took the seal which had three crowns from his pocket, slowly, so the guards wouldn’t get any wrong ideas. He hated stab wounds, they always felt especially nasty for some reason.

“Welcome Mr. Oxenstierna.”

“Hm.”

The seal alone would have probably been enough to convince the guards, but his name was also on the list of people who were marked to have an appointment with the king soon, so they let him in. He had used this human name for a long time now, it made more sense for some people to call him Berward than Sweden, maybe it felt less intimidating when you were able to forget you were talking to a personification of a country. His real name that was given to him when he was still a baby, back then when people had thought that he was just like everyone else, he had forgotten already a long time ago.

The palace maids hurried to take off his winter jacket and gloves, and the king’s personal assistant, a small man who had a huge brown beard, guided him to the meeting room. Sweden knew the palace probably better than anyone who worked there, he had been there with Finland when it had been built after the old one had burned down, but he let the man do his job and thanked him when he urged him to sit down at the table and wait until the king was ready to talk with him. Two new maid girls brought a pot of tea on the table and also some delicious looking cookies, before they curtseyed to Sweden and left from the room.  

Finland would have loved these, Sweden thought when he took a bite of the cookie, they tasted like vanilla and something else he had never tasted before, the taste was a bit sour but it fitted really well with the sweetness of the cookies. He was already about to stuff them in his pockets so that he could smuggle them to him, when the assistant announced that his highness had finally arrived and was now ready to meet Sweden. He glanced quickly at the cookies and then at the door. There was no time for this right now, he decided and got quickly up from his chair.

They walked through a beautiful corridor, decorated with gleaming gold and bright white colors and lit with huge crystal chandeliers, until they arrived to a larger room where his current king stood. He was a serious-minded young man who had inherited the throne too soon because his father had been assassinated, at least Sweden thought so. But he was his ruled nevertheless, so he bowed to him when he walked in the room and waited until he sat down before he did the same.

“Sweden.” his king nodded his head slightly to him as a greeting. 

“Your highness, I’m glad ya found t’me to meet me.”

“I’m a busy man, but I have always time for my country. Isn’t that my only job?” he smiled and his assistant poured him and Sweden a cup of tea. It smelled really good, even though Sweden had learned to like coffee more. Finland was almost addicted to it, but they couldn’t afford to buy it very often.

“I assume ya want to hear first how the meetings with Russia w’nt?” Sweden asked.

“Naturally. Do you think he’s going to be a threat to us?”

Sweden pondered the question for a while before he answered, “Not right now, nobody is cr’zy enough to attack during the winter and he’s busy fighting the Ottoman Empire. But he could m’ke our lives otherwise more difficult.”

“And all of this just because we refuse to ally with France and abandon our alliance with the United Kingdom? I hope you told him you would never ally yourself with a country whose ruler is the Antichrist himself?”

Sometimes his boss’s obsession with Napoleon worried Sweden, he insisted that he would be the one who would destroy the evil man and restore the order in Europe, no matter what it would cost to them. He didn’t understand they were no match for France right now. Maybe they would never be.

“Yes, I did. But do ya really th’nk…,” Sweden started to hesitate in the middle of the sentence.

“Yes?”

“Do you really think we should try to ch’llenge France again? We already lost my Pomerania to him… Maybe we should c’ncentrate more on defense this time? And try our b’st to stay out of this conflict. I have been th’nking about neutrality…”

“Sometimes offense is the best defense, Sweden. You all of countries should know that, and it’s France who is threatening us using Russia to do his dirty work, not the other way around. Don’t say you have caught a revolutionary flu, too? France has been a mess ever since that happened to him, first revolutions after revolutions and then this… Napoleon.” he almost spit his name “France is completely out of his mind.”

“Of course not, your highness. My loyalty b’longs only to ya.” Sweden assured.

“What about Finland?” his boss asked, and for a moment Sweden thought he had just asked did Sweden’s loyalty belong also to Finland, before he understood what he had meant.

“Finland is also loyal to ya. Just like the other provinces.” it’s a bit sad that you don’t have trust in him, Sweden thought but didn’t say it aloud.

“He has a history of separatism and defying orders when it’s beneficial for him, not necessary for the whole kingdom. He is our province; he shouldn’t do independent decisions. Are you sure the special… attention you give to him doesn’t make him think too much of himself?” his boss said, raising his brow, and then excepted him to answer something to the accusation.

“Your highness means the t’me when he chose a new king for himself and almost b’come a separate country?” Sweden asked, just to get more time to think of a good answer. He couldn’t deny it, Finland’s decision had bothered him, too.

“He was occupied by Russia when that h’ppened, he wouldn’t have done so otherwise. He is my wif… I mean, my other half, I live with him. I’m sure I know him w’ll enough, he won’t do that again.”

“And he will do as he is told, he will go to the Sveaborg fortress if something that could be a threat to the kingdom happens? I would have wanted to order him to be locked up in there the second you aren’t anywhere near him, but you made me change my mind. I hope I won’t need to regret it.”

“I hope it won’t ever be necessary, but he will.” Sweden assured.

His boss observed his expression for a while before he sighed, “Fine, I believe you if you say so. Do you have gathered any other information that could be beneficial for us?”

Sweden nodded his head, “I met one of our informants on the way h’re.”

“Is he reliable?”

“Very reliable. He’s close to Denmark. He t’ld me that Denmark is now allied w’th France, too. England destroyed his whole fleet and h’lf of his town in an attempt to prevent Denmark allying with France. The b’mbing had the opposite effect.”

“So that’s the reason why people say they sometimes see Denmark and Norway to come near our border and sometimes even over it. We can’t really stop them because we don’t know if they have bad intentions or not.”

Provoking them for nothing could start a war because the situation everywhere is really tense right now, Sweden pondered. All conflicts with them should be avoided at all cost, at least for now.

“But maybe it would be a good thing for us if they really did have bad intentions.” His boss continued, smirking now happily.

“Wh’t?”

“Think about it! We would finally have a good motive to capture Norway from our hostile neighbor. With him in our team, we would learn everything about Denmark, and we would finally be able to crush him for good. With the strengthened troops and extra resources, we could take down even France and the incarnation of evil he calls as his boss.”

“I don’t w’nt to sound disrespectful…,” Sweden said, he wasn’t sure how he should continue. Otherwise he would have agreed, but the plan was too risky in a situation like this, and their last attempt against France had been a disaster, “But shouldn’t we w’it until the situation calms down a little bit? Our soldiers could need m’re training, too.”

His boss looked at him for a moment the way you would most likely look at a nasty piece of dirt under you shoe, but then his expression turned considering, “I think you are already strong enough, but you probably know your own strength better than I do.”

“Hm.” Sweden nodded his head again. His boss was a reasonable man, after all.

“It’s settled, then. You will stay here to train our soldiers. Make me proud of you!”

“To train th’m? But… but I was supposed to be h’re only a few days.”

“A week or three is not too much to ask, don’t you think? And it was you who said they could need more training. Now is the best opportunity to wrestle Norway from our hostile neighbor, we shouldn’t miss it. You want that too, right?” his boss smiled and stroked his moustache. Sweden should have remembered that he didn’t like when someone argued against his decisions, he wanted to be the one who would say the last word.

“Your w’rd is my command.” Sweden reluctantly agreed. He didn’t want ‘a few weeks’ turn into ‘a few months’.

“Good. You are dismissed for now.” his boss said with a voice that implied he wanted to end their little meeting, he had already heard everything he thought was worth of hearing, “We will prepare a guest room for you. Feel free to ask anything from the maids, they have been instructed to obey your every command.”

Sweden rose from his chair and bowed once again to his boss before he left from the room. It was disappointing that he needed to stay here longer than he had excepted, but it was probably wise. Who knew what Denmark was up to, all their borders needed to be secured.

**20th of February, 1808 - Finland**

A red drop of blood fell on the table.

“Perkuleen… perkele!” Finland cursed and put the wounded finger in his mouth. Maybe he shouldn’t scale and salt a fish when his thoughts were completely elsewhere, on Sweden to be exact, it had started to look like he wouldn’t be home for spring. He had left already weeks ago, and he hadn’t heard of him since. He finished the task absentmindedly and decided to continue tomorrow, the rest of the fish he had caught would stay perfectly fine outside. 

“Remember, these aren’t for you, Flower-Egg.” Finland said to the dog while he buried the unprepared fish under the snow. If he was lucky enough, any wild animals wouldn’t dare to come so close to their house.

Flower-Egg ignored him, she stared somewhere in the location of nearby forest. Something about her behavior made Finland shiver, she had acted strangely for weeks now. Finland tried to see what she was seeing, but there was only darkness. Probably a bear had made its nest somewhere near and it hibernated there now, or maybe somewhere there was a wolfpack, Finland thought, the fish wouldn’t necessary be safe, after all.

“Come inside, girl. They should rather eat the fish than you.” he said to the dog, she sniffed her nose loudly, but obeyed the command nevertheless.

Finland closed the door behind him and checked then the finger he had cut earlier. It was already almost healed, you were only able to see a faint red scar, and in a few hours, it would disappear completely. One of the benefits of being a nation, Finland thought, even though it still hurt and his healing power was slower than the healing progress of actual countries. But at least his rather fast healing proved that everything was still fine in the kingdom, Flower-Egg’s behavior was just starting to make him a bit nervous.

“The whole house is ours again and I’m already starting to feel paranoid, Flower.” Finland sighed and sat on a soft and colorful rag rug that was on the floor near the fireplace. Flower-Egg decided to curl next to him, and Finland started to pet her head gently.

“It’s nice to have you here, at least I have someone to talk with when Sweden is gone. Not that I couldn’t talk with the townsfolk, but they wouldn’t necessary understand all the nation related stuff. It would be way too confusing for them.”

Not to mention that he didn’t know them well enough, they had lived in the current location only for a short time, and he always felt a little bit anxious among strangers. They moved pretty often, so that nobody would start to wonder why they never seemed to age and also because they didn’t want to favor only some parts of the wide kingdom.

It was fun to talk with Sweden. Finland could talk with him for hours about the little details that had happened yesterday or years ago. He wanted to ponder things through and through with him, and Sweden would always at least pretend to look interested, and sometimes he even told his opinion about the matter. He was a good listener. He was pretty good at many things.

“I wonder what he will say about the new recipe I discovered yesterday, I think it was tastier than usually…,” he left the sentence unfinished when he noticed Flower-Egg wasn’t listening. She stood now stiff-legged, clearly listening to something Finland couldn’t hear. The sight made cold shivers go down his spine again.

“Is there someone? Do you know something I don’t, Flower?” He asked. The question made her to yap. Then she ran to the door, scratching it, like wanting to show him something now that Finland had finally understood to ask the right question.

For a moment Finland just stared at her, different thoughts were swirling in his mind. So, there really was something or someone who shouldn’t be there? Flower-Egg had behaved like this already a long time, did this mean…  but who would bother to keep an eye of their house? It wasn’t a big house, they didn’t look rich or anything like that.

“Is it a bear, girl? They don’t usually make you act this way. No?” Finland walked slowly to the door, following barking Flower-Egg. When he opened it to take a peek outside, she ran immediately towards the nearby woods.

“Hey, don’t go there! Wait for me!”

Finland glanced around and took then a sturdy log from the nearby wood pile, just in case, and hurried after her. Maybe it was just an overly-eager fan of countries stalking their house, Finland hoped in his mind. It was so cold he was able to see his breath; every fast-paced inhale made his lungs hurt in a familiar way, and it was also so dark he could barely see anything, he was blindly following Flower-Egg’s barking, dodging the trees as he ran. He wanted so badly to turn back, but whatever there were could hurt Flower-Egg so he couldn’t do that.

Soon, he heard a sound of breaking branches, it sounded like someone had just run thought the frozen bushes, and then someone’s fast footsteps, muffled by the snow. Something or someone had realized Finland was approaching and had decided to flee from the scene. Finland stopped running only when he arrived to a clearing in the middle of the trees. It looked like someone had used this place as their camping site, that was the only thought that registered in his mind before he saw a sudden movement somewhere along the tree line out of the corner of his eye.

He was punched straight in the face, the impact of the hit made him first tumble backward and then he fell on his back in the snow. Before he was able to react, a man who had frantic eyes and a shabby appearance pinned him down and started to beat him with his fists.

He tried to protect himself with his arms and Flower-Egg rushed from the forest to sank her teeth to the man’s arm, but it didn’t make him stop. He yelped from the pain when the man’s fist hit his cheek again, probably breaking something this time. He needed to do something fast, or he would lose his consciousness. He needed the man to lean a little bit closer, just waiting that to happen was the hardest part.

At the right moment, Finland leaped to wrap his arms around the attacker’s body and pulled the surprised man down on him, then overhooked him with his legs and arms and with a swift movement rotated them over, switching their places.

He took the log from the ground, getting ready to hit the man if he tried to move, but he just looked confused under him, probably wondering what had just happened. He had been in so many wars together with Sweden that just a one man couldn’t usually defeat him. Unless it was a country, then he was in trouble, but this stranger clearly wasn’t one of them.

“Why did you attack me? Who are you?” Finland asked, he felt how the blood was still dripping from his nose. The man just whimpered something in Finnish now, for some reason it made Finland even more irritated.

“Answer to me!” he demanded and raised the log ready to swing it at him. He didn’t want to hit him, really, because if he did, he wouldn’t necessarily know when to stop in this state of mind.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! He promised to pay me well!” the man shook his head and cried.

“Who promised to pay to you?”

“A big, jolly looking man, I think he was called Braginsky or something else really foreign sounding! I was just supposed to spy on you and inform his men of your movements.”

“Braginsky? Ivan Braginsky?” Finland felt a cold sweat on his forehead despite the coldness of the weather. It was the human name Russia usually used, but why would he spy on them? And if he did, why didn’t Sweden mention the situation with Russia was so severe? He wouldn’t hide that from him and then just leave?

“He… he didn’t tell me his first name, but it could be the guy. Do you know him?” the man asked and looked at him with his sad, droopy eyes. It looked like he had calmed down, so Finland decided to let him go and stood up, leaving him to lay on the ground. Flower-Egg still continued to growl at him and Finland wasn’t going to abandon his log just yet.

“I have met him before.” Finland nodded.

“A fine man, I say. He said I don’t need to do anything but observe you two and I will be able to buy food on the table! I wasn’t supposed to hit you, but you scared me, you don’t usually go out so late. You weren’t supposed to see me, you know.” he paused for a minute, “But it looks like I didn’t hit you even very hard, you look almost perfectly fine!”

The man smiled happily at him and sat then up, didn’t he understand he was spying for a foreign country? Or that they wouldn’t be friends from now on? Probably not.

“Have you told him that I’m alone right now?”

“Of course. I sent a message to his men when the tall and scary looking man left, it was already weeks ago so he must know about it already. Is he your brother?”

Finland didn’t feel like answering to him, but with this simple sentence the man had just made their small home to feel a lot less safe place to be. Maybe he could wait here for a few days more, it was possible Sweden would come home really soon. But then he would defy the orders once again, and he would probably be disappointed in him. Again.

He would need to go to talk to the local military commanders so they could give him a ride to Sveaborg, and he should do it right now. But what was he going to do to this man? He would immediately send a message to Russia and tell him that he had left from his home, maybe even follow him. He glanced first at the log in his hand and then the man, but shook then his head like trying to clear his head from rather unpleasant thoughts. No, that definitely wasn’t a good idea… maybe he could lock him in their house and leave, but perhaps he could try something even better.

“Look,” Finland said, trying to make his voice sound more serious than usually, “You will be in a serious trouble when I inform the authorities about you. You are guilty of spying and you also tried to kill me. Do you understand that?” not that he could have killed him even if he had tried, but he didn’t need to know that.

The man’s grey eyes turned now fearful, he looked at him pleadingly, still sitting on the icy ground, “Hey, buddy, I never tried to kill you, I just… didn’t know what I should do. They can’t execute me, I have children to feed! You… you can hit me back, are we even, then?” the man closed his eyes tightly, getting ready to endure the pain.

“I don’t want to do that, but if you do me a small favor, I can forgive your crimes.”

“What? Tell me, please! I will do anything.”

“I’m going to leave when the sun comes up again, but I want you to continue to tell to Mr. Braginsky that I’m still at home and nothing has changed here.”

“If I do so, you won’t notify the authorities about me?”

“That’s right. Nobody gets harmed and you will still get your payment, does it sound good to you?” Finland was smiling at him now. He was able to see how the man’s eyes widened from the realization and relief.

“Thank you.” he just said.

“Just make sure he doesn’t know you are lying to him, he doesn’t like that.” Finland advised him before he started to walk towards his home. He would need to leave a message to Sweden and tell what had happened here before he would need to leave to Sveaborg.

Hopefully he would see it soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**21th of February, 1808 - Sweden**

Sweden made his horse run faster.

He didn’t want to completely exhaust the poor thing before he could get a horse and continue the journey with it, but he was in a hurry. For some reason he had a bad feeling, something wasn’t right. He and Finland were basically the same land, when something was wrong with Finland, he was able to feel it and the other way around, too. And because everything was fine here, something had to be wrong in the eastern part of the kingdom.

Nobody in the palace was able to tell anything to him, and it made Sweden to curse the bad connections. At least the boss had finally let him leave, they had excepted Denmark’s attack, but he was most likely waiting the weather to get better before he would do so.

Just a few hours, and he would arrive to the horse stables and get a new, well-rested horse, Sweden kept reminding himself as he rode along the snowy path, he would be back home soon. He was so concentrated on the thought that he didn’t pay much attention to his surroundings, and that’s why his brains didn’t have time to register what happened next.

All of the sudden his horse reared up and whinnied in terror. Sweden fell from the saddle and tumbled to the frosty ground, grunting loudly from pain when his back hit the sharp rocks on the road. He felt how they shredded his jacket and sank deep inside his skin.

For a moment, he just lay flat on his back, trying to understand what had just happened. Blurry snowflakes fell from the sky towards his face, melting when they touched his warm skin, and his back hurt so bad. It didn’t last long, though, and soon his thoughts become clearer. He felt how the broken skin got fixed, pushing out the small pebble from his wounds as it did so.

He sat up and began to look for his glasses from the snow. Too bad that his eyesight didn’t get any better, it was something that was in his genes and couldn’t be fixed. Luckily, they were still intact and after he had clumsily dried them to his sleeve, he was able to see what had scared his horse so badly it had run away.

Two tree trunks had fallen on the road simultaneously, just before Sweden had arrived, and blocked the route. Sweden rose calmly up and cleaned his clothes from the snow. There was nothing normal about the situation, two birch trees did not fall down just like that. And he already had a hunch on what had happened.

“Come out!” Sweden yelled to the seeming emptiness “I kn’w ya are somewhere there, I can feel your pr’sence already!”

At first nobody answered to his call, he kept staring the thick trees that surrounded the path. If someone had seen him now, they would have probably thought he had hit his head on the ground too hard. But soon enough someone started to laugh in the woods, it was a familiar voice to Sweden, but also something he would not have wanted to hear. They had been friends some centuries ago, some could say even brothers, but now it was a voice of an enemy.

Two men stepped out of the snowy woods. The taller one of them was grinning at him and carrying an axe on his shoulder, but the other man seemed to be more uncomfortable about the whole situation. His boss had told him the two were active around here for some reason, but whatever the reason was, it couldn’t mean anything good for Sweden, they were France’s allies now.

Denmark and Norway.

“How's it going, Sweden? The weather is really nice for some outdoor exercising!” Denmark said and continued to smirk at him. Sweden took a glimpse of his axe, if they were here to start a fight he was outnumbered and his back still hurt. Or maybe he had just used the axe to cut down the trees, even though Sweden was almost sure Norway’s magical creatures had made them fall at the right time, he didn’t want to believe Denmark would have been so fast with his ridiculous weapon of choice.

The creatures were also a dangerous opponent, even thought Norway couldn’t make them attack against anyone directly. They simply wouldn’t obey an order like that.

“What do ya want? I’m in a h’rry.” Sweden asked, trying to act like the whole situation was in his control.

“Always so impolite,” Denmark sighed theatrically and shook his head. “Do ya think we should tell to Swedey why we are here, buddy? “he turned to ask from Norway, who had been quiet until now.

“No, we should have left before he even realized we are here, but of course it would have been way too easy solution for ya.” he answered calmly to his partner.

“That’s my Norway, always so practical. But that would not have been as fun.” Denmark shrugged, and turned then to look at Sweden again. He raised his right hand and then lowered it to point at Sweden.

“We want you to go back where ya came from. We can’t allow you to go any further.”

“I’m on my own land, I go wh’rever I please.”

“Then ya will also accept a risk of war. We are allied with France now, and he doesn’t like ya very much at the moment.” Denmark said, now looking more serious so Sweden wouldn’t think he was only fooling around. Norway continued to look at Sweden with a gaze Sweden was unable to interpret.

“Why?” Sweden grunted.

“What do ya mean?” Denmark tilted his head questioningly, “Why I’m on France’s side? That’s a good question” he chuckled dryly before he continued.

“Maybe because that ill-natured tea drinker – England, if ya didn’t get the hint – attacked me for no reason. And like a coward he is, he targeted a defenseless city.”

“Yes, b’t…”

“There were fire bombings, Sweden! And there were still people in the city! He did it only because he was afraid that I could become France’s ally unless he scares me to obey him. He attacked me and destroyed my whole fleet, so naturally England’s enemies are my friends now. And of course, I still have old grudges towards ya too. I haven’t forgotten how ya destroyed the union or how you took Scania from me.”

“No, why won’t you let me to c’ntinue.”

“Oh, that. Ya are hard to understand sometimes.” Denmark smiled now again. Sweden was almost sure he was just playing with him now, “Ya have something that Russia wants, something that was promised to him by France if ya turn out to be a pain in the ass, and he doesn’t want ya to be there to bother him while he tries to acquire his payment. So, ya are staying here with us until he gets whatever he’s after.”

But Sweden wasn’t listening him to finish his sentence. What Denmark had said at the beginning had made him distracted, horrified even. He couldn’t mean… There was no way Russia would start so risky war against him, Denmark had to be lying. But he needed to go back home, right now, Finland was there all alone and if he wasn’t lying, he could be in danger.

He walked closer to the duo, pushing them aside when he passed them. Neither of them did or said anything, they just continued to watch him as he walked further away from them, towards a nearby wooden bridge. They were probably as wary of war with him as he was with them, Sweden thought, but the nagging feeling he had about how this had been too easy didn’t disappear. If he could only find his horse or be able to walk to the horse stable, he would be fine. He needed to get back home fast, because if Russia was going to start a war, Sweden was needed there.

Their defense plan against Russia was pretty dangerous. If Russia attacked, the soldiers had orders to retreat without a fight and leave a lot of their eastern land to the mercy of the enemy. Sweden didn’t like this part of the plan, and Finland would have probably hated it if he had told him about it, but his boss had convinced him that it was the best strategy they had. Later, they could surround the tired enemy from the Sveaborg fortress that was located in the south and with the new troops from the north. Finland would be safe in the fortress, but Sweden wanted to be there with him, to boost the morale and make sure everything went according to the plan.   

When he was about halfway to the bridge, it started to make a strange noise under his feet. The pure instinct told him to run for his life, but it was already too late. The bridge collapsed under him with a huge creaking sound, the hard logs snapped in two like if they were only thin sticks, causing him to fall into the water through the frozen surface of the river before he was able to anything.

The water was so cold it hurt, it made his body feel like it was on fire. His lungs screamed for air immediately, the shock from the cold was almost too hard to resist.  

Thankfully, he had managed to suppress the reflex to gasp and breathe in, but he needed to get out of the water immediately, otherwise it would kill him all over and over again. Trying his best to avoid panic and after being confused about the right direction for a moment, he swam towards the surface and tried to grab onto the edge of the ice. Before he was able to do so, he felt how a weird force lifted him up and then fling him on the shore.

It took him some time to release he was safely back on the ground. Instinctively, he put his hand in his pocket. Like he had been afraid, the water had destroyed the paper he had used to wrap some cookies in. They were now unrecognizable mush in his pocket, and for some reason that made him feel angrier than anything that had happened until now.

“What a horrible accident! Swedish bridges aren’t what they used to be. You should be happy that we happened to be here, otherwise you would have spent your time in the river until spring.” Denmark walked to him, pretending to be shocked. Sweden tried to calm his breath and just glanced angrily at him, still shivering from the cold.

“A thank you would be nice!”

“Stop that, I kn’w it was ya two.”  

“Aren’t ya a clever one, it’s not like I told ya just a moment ago we can’t let you continue. Ya can choose any path you want, but who knows what will happen next, maybe an avalanche will freeze ya on your track. We were nice this time, we could have easily just left ya in the river.”

“Ya can try, ya w’ll fail.” He tried to look pleadingly at Norway, trying to make him to change Denmark’s mind, but all in vain. He really needed to save him from Denmark’s bad influence, he cursed in his mind. The plan to do that existed, unlike he had told to Russia, and it wasn’t postponed like he had told to Finland. No, it was almost ready, just waiting an opportunity to implement it.

“You can still die of hypothermia if ya won’t get warm soon.” Norway advised, and unfortunately Sweden knew he was right. His ragged jacket was soaking wet, he would need to get it dry before he could try continue.

“Our camp is near, you are welcome to warm up there.” Denmark offered, knowing that Sweden couldn’t say no in this situation, even though leaving from there would probably be more difficult.

“Fine.”

**3th of May, 1808 - Finland**

Sveaborg had withstood the cannon fire for months now. Russian forces had attacked only a few days after Finland had arrived here, and he still didn’t know why. At first, he had been doubtful, but now it started to look like the fortress really was unbeatable after all. The walls had barely any cracks at all despite being bombed constantly, and their soldiers fought the fire with fire. Everything seemed to be under control right now.

But for some reason the commander of the fortress wasn’t looking too happy. Finland stood by him, his face looked tired and for some reason his eyes looked empty, like he had suddenly lost all the hope. 

“They aren’t coming, are they?” he asked. Finland wasn’t sure was the question addressed to him or was he just wondering things out loud.

“Who? The reinforcements? I’m sure our soldiers are doing their best fighting the attack right now.”

Finland said, but wasn’t sure was the commander even listening. He hadn’t heard about Sweden since he had left to Stockholm, and he was able to feel in his bones that the war wasn’t going very well for them. For some reason, the enemy had advanced further faster than he had thought they would be able to. He felt himself weak, he was very vulnerable right now, but that didn’t necessary mean anything. Sweden probably had a plan; he would come up with something at any minute. He had to.  

“I sent a messenger to Stockholm some days ago, asking them to arrive as soon as possible…”

“And? Did you get the answer?”

The commander turned to look at him, now trying to smile. The smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, and he looked more nervous than convincing. He shook his head slightly before answering.

“Ah, you don’t need to worry about it. I already know what I should do.”

“Well… that’s… good. I guess.” Finland said hesitantly. The commander’s behavior was a bit bizarre, but the huge responsibility probably weighted his shoulders “If I’m not needed right now, I think I will go to bed.”

“Yes, you can go to sleep. Don’t worry, I will take care of everything, I will make sure this hopeless war will end soon. I will save everyone if the king is too busy to do so…”

“That’s good to hear, Mr. Cronstedt! I’m glad we have you here.” Finland said, smiling to him encouragingly, “Good night.”

* * *

 

Something made Finland to wake up, and it wasn’t the headache he seemed to have every day now. The unfamiliar surroundings didn’t startle him anymore, he had already gotten used to his new room here in the Sveaborg fortress. He almost regretted coming here, he felt himself almost as a prisoner, and nobody told him what happened outside these rooms. The Russian troops probably already knew he was here, but the enemy had no way in. It was annoying just to stay here without being able to do anything.

But there were other things that also worried him. He was sure the war didn’t go very well for Sweden, he wouldn’t feel this weak or have this dull headache otherwise. And Finland hadn’t heard of him since he had left. He hoped he was alright.

He was just about to go back to sleep when he heard a weird noise. He wasn’t sure was that the same noise that had woken him up in the first place, but for some reason it made him nervous. He got up from the bed, trying to carefully listen to his surroundings while doing so. Flower-Egg was nowhere to be seen, which was a bit unusual, but otherwise everything seemed to be fine. When nothing seemed to happen and the house stayed quiet, he decided to lit a candle so he could see better. But that was a mistake.

Almost immediately, someone broke the window to the room. When the glass shards rained down on the floor, the scream got stuck in his throat. He saw only a brief glimpse of a soldier dressed in green before his instinct told him to run, run out of the room. It didn’t help, though – in the corridor he heard how the door got smashed in. How the enemy got here? Where were their own soldiers? What had happened to them?

He ran to the kitchen, but felt trapped there when he heard loud voices from somewhere nearby. After frantically trying to search someplace to hide, he jumped on the large window shield and pulled the curtains to hide him from view. He was already considering to fight his way out of here, when he sensed he wasn’t the only nation here and when he heard a familiar voice.

“You don’t need to run anymore, Finland. Sweden has already promised you to me, for a small favor to him. All of your soldiers have left, you are here all alone.”

He was scared, really scared. The adrenaline running in his veins told him to flee and it was hard to fight the urge to just obey it. His heart beat so fast behind his chest that he was sure everyone was able to hear it. Hear it and find him.

“Come out, I’m not going to hurt you. Well, unless you give me a reason to do so.”

Finland heard the surprisingly friendly voice to call him again, but there was no way he was going to believe any word that came from Russia’s mouth, especially after all the things he had said about Sweden. Sweden… simply wasn’t like that! He heard how the source of the voice was moving somewhere near, opening the cabinet doors, trying to find his hiding place.

He hugged his legs tighter, trying to breath evenly and calm himself down. He was sitting in a narrow place on a window ledge, thick curtains hide him from the sight, but he knew couldn’t stay there for much longer, he needed to find a new place to hide before the man would find the right room. Or before the soldiers in green jackets would see him through the window despite the darkness outside.

“I usually enjoy playing hide-and-seek with my new little friends, but I’m a bit busy right now. So, if you could come to me with your hands in the air it would be better for the both of us!”

Finland didn’t really care, he hoped that he would have been so busy that he would have left him alone. He opened the hook that kept the window locked with his trembling hands and hoped he could push the window open so quietly it wouldn’t make a sound. The man stayed silent for a moment, probably listening to his surroundings, before Finland heard him to sigh with frustration. 

“Fine. But do you really think that I don’t know you’re here somewhere? And that you’re already tired? I always win in this game and I have played this game with a lot of mightier opponents than you, little one.”

The pace of man’s steps was slow and calm, it almost sounded like he was also humming a cheerful melody, and that worried Finland. It was like he had no doubt that he would find his exhausted prey eventually. True, it was hard for him to shake him off when they were both able to sense the presence of other nations, but if he would somehow get far enough from him it could be possible. He needed to flee from this island and find Sweden, something had gone horribly wrong here.

Finland started to open the window carefully, he really hoped the squeal of the rusty hinges sounded loud to his ears only. The past winter had made the window to stuck shut, he wasn’t sure should he push it open slowly and try to ignore the noise, or take the risk and use more strength.  

The sudden sound of falling pots and pans made him jolt and the movement made the window creak nastily. Was he already in the kitchen, Finland panicked. Breath, he needed to remember to breath. Like wanting to confirm his fears, the man started to talk again, this time the sweet voice came clearly from somewhere nearby.

“This is a magnificent place, I wonder why Sweden is so ready to give it to me? It will be in good use, don’t you worry.”

He is not ready to give it to you, Finland wanted to yell back at him. He didn’t know what had happened here or where Sweden was, but what he was saying wasn’t true. Stupid window, it needed to open before it was too late.

“You know it as well as I do, but you want to deny it, poor boy. Sweden has abandoned you, left you to be picked by me. Why else he wouldn’t be here by now? He has someone else on his mind. You are his small change.”

Whom?

No.

Lies.

Those were all lies!

Everything was fine between Sweden and him. The last time he had seen Sweden, he had acted just like he always did. He probably knew Sweden better than anyone, they had been together for years now. He was always so stoic and silent, and yes, when he decided something, he chased his goal using any means necessary, that was also the reason why they had so many enemies now.

But that was just the other side of the coin. He was also tender and loving, and during all these years they had grown closer and closer. Two halves of the shared soul had at some point finally united into one.

That’s cute, but also so naïve, you don’t know does he act like that only because you belong to him, a tiny voice of doubt whispered inside his head, slowly gnawing his resilience. You could be just about anyone, and he would act the same.

Or maybe he has finally gotten tired of you because you can’t decide what you want your relationship with him to be? You are always doubting his feelings and your own feelings. You aren’t sure are they real or just an illusion because no matter what he says to you, he is your higher-up. And you want more freedom than he is ready to give to you.

He shook his head, like trying to clear his thoughts. He really shouldn’t listen to the man, he just tried to mess with his head and he was pretty good at it. He pushed the window one more time and it opened wide-open, making the curtains that had hid him just a moment ago ruffle in the wind. Crap, he had not thought about that.

“Guess what?”

He heard the man say when he climbed down the window and dropped himself to the ground, the gravel crunched under his bare feet. Run, it was the only thought in his mind, he needed to run now. But where, there was no place to go? He did so anyway.

“I found you ~.”

Maybe he could try to hide himself in a crack on the tall stone walls? Maybe he would be able to go back there where he had come to the island and sneak the same way out of here? The place was probably crowded with soldiers now, but he had to try. He would need to find Sweden, he would have an understandable explanation for all this and he would know what they should do next.

There was no way he would have led him to this trap on purpose, was there?

“Stop!”

The sound of shot echoed in the otherwise quiet night.

The bullet had missed him. Finland wasn’t sure has it been only a warning shot or was it only too dark for aiming. But he was sure everyone here had heard it, and now they knew where he was. And the green jackets weren’t his only worry, he was sure Russia was already after him and he didn’t see Flower-Egg anywhere. What had happened to her? There was no reason to hurt her, right?

He tried to decide which way he should go next when he saw a group of soldiers approaching him from the west. He was only barely able to turn around when someone struck his temple with a blunt object, making him to fall down on the cold ground.


	4. Chapter 4

**7th of May, 1808 – Finland**

He bit the rope that tied his hands together, even though he knew his effort was completely useless. He couldn’t do anything even if he got his hands free, there were too many enemies around and his captor was in the same carriage with him. Russia knew this very well, otherwise he wouldn’t have just leaned on his hand and watched his useless efforts to get free with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Since the capture, he had been moved from place to place like a sack of potatoes, and couldn’t care less how undignified he probably looked like right now. He wasn’t sure why they kept changing his location, was it because the Swedish troops were already approaching – oh, how he hoped this was the case! - or were they just doing it for security. What worried him was the feeling that they were traveling towards the east, further and further away from home and Sweden.

“You are wasting your energy for nothing, I hope you understand that.” Russia finally said, after his struggle ceased to interest him. Finland didn’t feel like answering, he felt he had to do something, was it useful or not.

“Your head wound will open again if you continue that.” he tried to reason with him.

The very same head wound you caused, Finland thought and tried his best to ignore him. It was true that he healed awfully slowly now, but it was understandable, the war was raging right at his lands. He was just about to give his captor an angry glance when he realized he had just taken something from his belt. 

Was it a… knife?

He yelped when Russia suddenly leaned forward and grabbed his arm. The blood escaped from his face, his eyes were fixated on the sharp blade in front of him, whatever happened on the background faded away.

That was the reason why it took some time for him to realize that Russia had only cut his binds. Slowly, he looked at smiling Russia and then lifted his hands to the face-level, moving his numb fingers while doing so.

“Better?”

Finland nodded his head reluctantly, “Thank you.”

When he had tried to get rid of the rope it had felt like he was at least trying to do something, trying his best to escape. Now he was just sitting there, wondering what he should do next. He couldn’t beat Russia, he was an empire and Finland was just a mere province, the power balance between them was too great.

He could, of course, try to dash to the carriage door when the best opportunity to do that would arrive, jump out and run as fast as he could. The new plan, no matter how imperfect it was, made him feel a bit more relaxed. He wasn’t exactly sure where they were, but he was almost sure he would have known if these wouldn’t still be his lands.

“He won’t come to rescue you. I told you he’s busy with someone else.” Russia said while he watched at the scenery that was passing by.

“I still don’t believe you.” Finland whispered back. Russia just chuckled at his remark, like he knew something he was not telling to Finland.

“Doesn’t it ever bother you,” Russia started to talk again, interrupting his thoughts about the escape plan, “That you won't get the credit for anything you ever do? Even if you were to achieve something great? It will always be done by Sweden; Sweden was victorious in a battle, Sweden is a major power in Europe? Although he never achieved these things alone?”

“I’m Swedish, too. It doesn’t matter that my people are… a bit different than his.”

“It’s always funny when a lamb tries to pretend it’s a lion.”

“They are as Swedish as everyone else, his honor is my honor, his defeat is my defeat.” Finland said, trying to sound assertive, even though Russia was poking at his old insecurities. 

“Then why are you here all alone now? And this is the third time within a short period of time this happens to you. Why it isn’t Sweden who is sitting here a clumsy bandage wrapped around his head, looking at me with wide, frantic eyes, glancing pointlessly at the _locked_ door in hope of escape.”

Russia’s last sentence made Finland to startle, his reaction clearly amused his captor, “Silly boy. Yes, the door is locked. Do you think Russia is an amateur, should I be offended? You are his shield, that’s all you are to him. If you were the real Sweden, wouldn’t they do everything to get you back?”

“They are,” Finland nodded his head, mostly to himself. He was starting to feel himself anxious again, a cold sweat started to form at the back of his neck, it was like every road led to dead end. And despite all this, he felt there was still at least some hope left as long as Sweden was still free.

“Otherwise the war would be already over. It’s not.”

Russia’s eyes that were a familiar shade of violet, so typical for northern nations, moved to glance at him again, corners of his lips twitched into a smug smile. Finland had liked it better when his gaze had been concentrated on the scenery.

“True, I’m still fighting against some guerillas, but Sweden himself is nowhere to be seen. It was really easy to figure out where you were hiding, even after we didn’t find you from your house where you were supposed to be, and after that, catching you was a breeze. Right now, I could do whatever I wanted with you. You are completely at my mercy, and Sweden doesn’t care, he said I could have you.”

“Then what is holding you back?” Finland wasn’t sure did he want to know the answer to the question.

“Maybe I have trust in your common sense,” Russia’s smile looked almost genuine now, “Stop resisting willingly, it will make your guerrillas to stop their useless fight. In turn, I can give you a good position in my empire. Something Sweden was always too weak to give to you, a change for your people to decide on their own matters.”  

“You can’t fool me twice. The last time you offered to make me independent and even encouraged me to elect a new king just for my people. It never happened.” And it made Sweden to act differently towards him. So… distantly for a long time. Like all they had experience together had been cleared from his memory. He had hated it. And he had hated himself for taking Russia’s shady offer, but that had seemed to be the only choice back then.

“Ah, it was a long time ago. Sometimes plans change, and it was a bad idea anyway. We can have the same ruler, you don’t need your own house. It’s much nicer when everyone is together under the same roof.”

“So… you are offering me an illusion of freedom?”

Russia chuckled again, “Exactly. Just like when I cut your robes; you feel freer, but the space where you can move is still limited. Sorry, but you are just a small fry in this big, bad world. You can never be completely on your own, there are countries who eat shrimps like you for breakfast, you wouldn’t survive for long alone.”

“You want me to betray Sweden for something like that?”

“Oh, don’t be so stubborn, he betrayed you first. Listen, I’ll give you some time to think about my offer. But don’t think for too long; after I have done killing your rebellions, I have no need to give you anything anymore. I will gladly find some time to teach you to understand your own best. It’s all up to you now, if I were you, I would choose wisely.”

Finland turned his head to look away from him, it was the only way to get some own space even though he still felt his eyes on his back. Was it really his decision when he was a prisoner and both of the “choices” led to Russia?

 

**15th of February 1809 – Sweden**

The dusky bar was full of people, most of them were war weary soldiers on their leave, but also some civilians had found their way in. None of them were in a very happy mood, they were silently drinking their glasses empty, lost in their own grey thoughts.

The only exceptions were seven noble looking men sitting at a round, worn table. Only they seemed to still have an energy to talk about the war that was going really badly for their country. A tall man sitting in a corner, wearing a dark hood that hid his face, was listening to their silent discussion carefully. It looked like he wasn’t there by chance, but the men didn’t pay any attention to him.

“Our country is in a serious danger of being partitioned by Russian Empire and Denmark-Norway.” the chubby looking man with a double chin said to his friends who all nodded in agreement, “Our leaders don’t know what they are doing.”

True, the tall man agreed. All their king’s strategies had turned out to be catastrophes. Denmark had finally declared war about a year ago, the king had predicted that one right, and while it wasn’t necessary to treat him with kid gloves anymore, everything else was just a big mess. Russians had advanced far. Their king was the sole reason why Finland was gone. Again. He was to blame of all their misfortunes, no one else.

“What about the United Kingdom? Why don’t we ask help from them?” one of the men asked.

“They are too busy helping the Portuguese. The French madman invaded their country, too. They sent some of their ships to bother the Russians, but that’s all.”

“Then why are we their allies?”

“Politics. Who understands the way the world goes around?”

“Does anyone know what happened with Mr. Cronstedt? Why the Sveaborg fortress surrendered, I have heard only some rumors? It messed up all our plans.”

The chubby man shook his head, “Heaven only knows, the message where he called for reinforcements arrived only on the day the fortress surrendered. The messenger swears that the Russians slowed down his journey on purpose and that’s why he was so late. We never had enough time to send him an answer, not to mention reinforcements.”

“Maybe something just snapped in his head?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the eastern parts of the country had been ravaged many times during the years, and now it looked like the soldiers were just going to retreat again, leaving them to endure everything alone. Maybe they couldn’t take it anymore, maybe they just gave up?”

“You mean Mr. Cronstedt or the… land itself?”

Leave his Finland out of this, the hooded man clenched his fists. He wouldn’t break so easily, he didn’t want to believe it. It was Cronstedt, he was the traitor. And the plan to retreat had been the king’s idea, his awful idea to leave all the civilians to the mercy of the enemy until they could counterattack. And then losing the Sveaborg had made the whole plan impossible to implement.

“I have never believed in these land-creatures.” the man with dark hair laughed, “My grandmother used to insist that she has met our country when she was a young girl. He was supposed to be a tall man with blond hair and icy eyes behind glasses, probably just someone the good old grandma had made up in her wildest dreams. I hope you don’t believe in fairy-tales anymore Mr. Adlersparre.”

“There are several people who claim they have met him… or them, he’s not usually alone.”

“Then there are several Swedes who have something wrong with their heads. Listen, I’m sure the enemy promised something to Mr. Cronstedt, be it gold or the glory and that’s the reason he betrayed all of us. Just like that, no need for crazy conspiracies. That’s why his prize is death when we get our lands back, the only good decision from our _dear_ leader.”

All the men laughed at the tone of his voice when he mentioned their king. Well, at least that was true. Cronstedt was to blame, but he wasn’t the only one. The tall man got up from his chair.

“ _If_ we get them back.” The chubby man who was called Adlersparre, sighed, “There are rumors that the Russians are going to attack over the ice-covered sea soon. They will be in Stockholm if we don’t do something to stop them.”

“If we w’nt to end this losing streak, we need to get rid of the cause of it f’rst.” the hooded man walked over to them and slammed his palms to the table to get their attention, ignoring their hostile gazes.

“Who are you?” Adlersparre asked, looking at him with a loathing expression on his face, like that would have intimidated Sweden.

“Someone who w’nts the same thing as ya”.

“And what do you think we want, stranger?”

“To dethrone our king. To end his re’gn for once and for all.”

The men behind the table fell completely silent, their angry expressions turned into confusion, fear even. Some of them glanced at the bar door, most likely believing that this was a trap and they would be arrested at any moment.

“How… dare you?” one of them finally had the courage to exclaim, when the atmosphere of the bar stayed dull and calm, “We are army officers, loyal to our country and especially to our king. You can’t just come here to speak your traitorous crap in front of…”

“Stop pr’tending. I know who ya are, I have been watching ya.” Sweden said before he removed his hood, “I hope also ya know who I am, even the one who doesn’t b’lieve in me. My name is Sweden, n’ce to meet ya all.”

Sweden knew his name had an effect on the audience when the dark-haired man turned pale and looked like he was just about to choke. The others just stared at him, but nobody tried to deny his words. It was good that people usually believed them immediately when they told them the truth about their identity, otherwise introducing themselves to new rulers would have been a major headache.

“Sweden? But how… why? It’s an honor to finally meet you…”

“Call me Mr. Oxenstierna. I w’nt to avoid being recognized by too m’ny people.” Sweden said and sat at their table “I w’nt to ask you a favor.”

“You… you want us to murder the king?” the dark-haired man had finally collected himself. His blue eyes stared at him, like trying to memorize every bit of him before he would leave, or perhaps he thought he could vanish into thin air at any given moment. He looked like he would do anything he thought his country wanted, even murder someone without hesitation. People like him made Sweden sometimes worried.

“That’s not necessary, he just needs to step d’wn from his throne. We need someone else, someone who can win our lands b’ck and end this war b’fore it spreads everywhere. I know ya have already m’de some plans.”

“True,” Adlersparre admitted, “But we aren’t sure how we could break into the palace. It’s too well guarded.”

“That’s why I w’nted to meet ya,” Sweden said and pulled the new royal seal from his pocket. He put it on a table to everyone to see, “Ya are all trusted officers and with this one of ya can sneak in to make preparations for the others. No questions ask’d.”

“The royal seal…” someone whispered. For a moment the men just looked at it, “This is it! If even our country is on our side, we can’t lose. This is our destiny, this is what is meant to happen.” one of them proclaimed excitedly.

“But if you already have a free access to the palace, why don’t you dethrone him yourself?” Adlersparre asked.

“I can’t. We can’t take down our b’sses. But it doesn’t stop me from h’lping those who want to do so when I th’nk it’s necessary. But I need to warn ya; if you get caught, if you fail, ya are on your own.”

* * *

 

When he later walked towards the battle zone where everyone was excepting the Danish-Norwegian soldiers to attack at dawn, he couldn’t help but think that his small deed he just did could either save them or destroy the whole kingdom. But he couldn’t regret it now, what was done was done.

He had probably broken all the unwritten rules they, the nations, had just a moment ago. If he was a mortal, he would get a death sentence for this.

But there was just so much a new, less stubborn king could do, he could make a deal with France and abandon this useless alliance with England and his brothers. And most of all, he could negotiate Russia to give Finland back to him.

Because no matter how much he had sworn loyalty to his boss, he had realized he was much more loyal to someone else, and no matter how much problems they may had in the past, he wasn’t ready to lose him.


	5. Chapter 5

**20th of March, 1809 - Finland**

“What should I do?”

Finland asked. For a moment it looked like Estonia was going to say something, but then decided against and just shook his head to him. He walked over to Finland and sat on the bed, next to him.

“Only you can decide that.”

Finland glanced at his friend briefly. He was always so rational, so different from what he was like when they were just kids. Maybe spending most of his time with Latvia had made him more responsible, or maybe everything he had experienced so far had turned him to be like that, who knew. But Finland had kind of hoped that he would encourage him to do something stupid, something really foolhardy. Coming from his mouth it would have sounded like something clever, and he would have had more courage to try it then. Just like during old times.

“I’ve been stuck in this house almost a year now and I still don’t know,” Finland said, frustrated. They were in a room that was given to him by Russia. It was average size and contained a bed, a desk and a huge wardrobe, which was mostly empty. So, nothing very useful, but at least he didn’t need to stay there during the daytime if he didn’t want to, “I need to get out of here, then I don’t need to decide anything!”

“It’s easier to say than done, you’re still considered as Sweden’s and under special supervisory attention because of that. I’m pretty sure I tried every way to get out of here when I was brought to this house for the first time.”

“Chimneys. I could try to climb up one of the chimney flues again. They won’t expect me to do the same thing twice!”

“Last time, Belarus wanted to smoke you out of there and you also almost got stuck in there. If I were you, I would think some other way.” Estonia reminded him.

“You said I needed to decide for myself what to do...”

“True,” Estonia chuckled and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, “I’m just providing you with information that will hopefully help you to make the best decision.”

Finland looked at Flower-Egg who was sleeping on the floor next to the small desk. For his relief, Russia had brought her to him when they had arrived here. She had probably wakened up in the fortress before he had, and ran then to their ambush before he had been caught.

It felt like that had been ages ago. He still didn’t get any information about the war or what had happened to Sweden. He knew it was still going on because he still didn’t feel like he normally felt, but that was it. Russia rarely visited his own home, and when he did, he didn’t tell him anything useful. Just occasionally reminded him that the clock was ticking faster and faster day by day or that Sweden had already moved on. It was surprisingly effective, gnawing slowly his resolve.

“Would you… would you like me to stay?” he asked from Estonia. He wasn’t even sure why, it was an unfair question.

“Well, I…” Estonia started hesitantly, “Of course I would like that, it’s nice to have friendly faces around…”, he admitted, but then continued, “But maybe it would be better if we could be friends somewhere else than here… This place is like living on a boat which is permanently located in a rapid river. You never know what will happen. So, I'm not trying to influence your decision, if you think so.”

Finland nodded his head just when someone knocked on the half-closed door. Both of the nations froze for a second, until they realized who was at the door.

“C… Can I come in? I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important.” a young-looking nation who had a really messy hair asked. The expression on his face was shy, like he was already regretting of coming here and was certain that they would tell him to leave.

“Of course, Latvia. I’m just still trying to figure out what I should do. So, the same old.” Finland sighed.

Latvia nodded at Finland and then sat next to Estonia, who started to tease him about his curiosity. Latvia defended himself claiming that he wasn’t curious, it was just wise keep up with the situation.

“Curious about what?” Finland interrupted them. Latvia already knew about his indecisiveness, there was nothing new about that, so it had to be something else.

“Well… I heard you met the tsar a while ago. It’s usually only Russia who has meetings with him and I have seen him only from far away… So, what was he like?” he asked, leaning forward so that he could look at Finland.

“Oh, that… he was… surprisingly nice, really. At least for someone who leads a hostile attack against my lands.” It felt weird to call him nice, but despite everything, Finland had found it really hard to hate him. He was weirdly charming and a bit mysterious, totally different than he had imagined Russia’s leader to be, “But he’s also starting to get impatient with me and wants me to pledge an oath of allegiance to him. Soon.”

“He’s probably afraid of France. He wants to end the war as soon as possible to get his soldiers elsewhere.” Estonia pondered aloud.

“France? Why would he be afraid of him, aren’t they allies?” Finland glanced at Estonia.

“Only barely. Russia is unhappy with him, France hasn’t helped him as much as he would have wanted against the Ottoman Empire, and stopping the trade with England and his brothers has also hurt his people. They also can’t agree about the position of Poland. Russia would like to start trading with England again, despite what France wants. That could start a war.”

“Oh,” Finland blinked his eyes. It was almost incomprehensibly how quickly the situations between different alliances changed. But if he wanted to end the war as soon as possible, could it also mean…

“Maybe… maybe they will give me back to Sweden, then?” Finland realized, “I mean, if the resistance doesn’t stop and he can’t continue fighting any longer? He needs to give up, right?”

“Unlikely, when Russia decides something, he rarely changes his mind, no matter what.” Latvia murmured. Finland waited for Estonia’s opinion, but he just looked at him, an apologetic expression on his face. There was also the possibility that Sweden wouldn’t want him back, a voice whispered deep inside Finland’s head. He tried his best to ignore it.

“So, that means I still need to decide will I be forced to obey or will I bend to his will and get some privileges for my good behavior.”

“Isn’t that the easiest choice ever? I would kill to get a better position!” Latvia blurted out, but started then to regret his choice of words, “I mean, figuratively speaking. I’ve no intention to start a rebellion or anything…”

Finland noticed that both of the nations glanced around their surroundings for a while, but when nothing seemed to happen, they become relaxed again.

“I have told you to watch your mouth, Latvia, about a hundred times already.” Estonia sighed, “But what he said is true. Why are you hesitating?”

“Doesn’t it make me a traitor if I choose the latter option? I can’t do that to Sweden and I don’t want to stay here either!” Finland cried out.

“But if Sweden can’t get you back, are you ready for the consequences? And this is not only about you, it’s never just about us. You need to think about your people, too. Are you ready so sacrifice also them to look a little bit better in the eyes of others? What does they want?” Estonia asked.

“My nobility, they want me to give up. They are afraid to lose their positions, so they want me to play along, at least for now. If Sweden does get me back, my words aren’t binding anyway because I’m just a nation, so all the oaths can be ignored. They hope I will be forgiven again and that Sweden will understand my difficult position.”

Finland was quiet for a while before he continued, “My peasants, on the other hand, don’t trust Russia and are extremely loyal to the king. They are sure they will become serfs if I have to stay with Russia, so a quite large number of them of them want to fight till death.”

“So, all you need to do is to choose the more sensible option!” Estonia said, making it sound easier than it really was, it was really hard to remember that he used to be the more reckless one, “How much you think you still have time to make the decision?”

Finland couldn’t help but laugh nervously at that. He looked at the calendar that had been on the wall of “his” room since he had arrived here, even though that wasn’t necessary. He knew even without it how much time he had left.

“Exactly five days.”

 

**5th of September 1809 – Sweden**

The king was gone.

Replaced by an old sick man who probably wouldn’t live much longer. His heart was too weak, and unlike Sweden’s heart, it couldn’t grow back after it became completely useless. There were rumors that he would get a new leader soon again, maybe a prince from Denmark.

He hoped that wouldn’t happen, Denmark would never let him forget where his new king was originally from. But once again, that was something he had no control over. His people and everyone else thought that they were all powerful beings who lived almost eternally, but in the worst cases they all were just servants under a one man. Or a woman, but that was less common.

The other choice for their new ruler was a general from France’s army. Oh, the irony, his new ruler could be someone from the enemy countries. A small wonder nobody had suggested a Russian king yet.

But the fact that they even considered someone from Denmark’s or France’s place told Sweden that his people did not believe in his victory anymore. Now they were only fighting to get better peace terms. He was already out of energy, hungry and he felt like he had been torn in half.

He raised his head a little bit, just so that he could meet the gaze of Norway. He looked carefully at the man who towered in front of him, his usually calm violet eyes looked fiercely back at him. His whole presence reflected self-assurance; he had managed to get Sweden where he wanted him to be.

A small little mistake had led Sweden to this situation. Or maybe a large collection of small mistakes, but it was too late to regret them now.

But Norway also looked tired, black circles under his eyes revealed the lack of sleep. The battles with Denmark and Norway had mostly been short skirmishes (then why did he lay helplessly on the ground now?), the real fighting was with the Russians, but the alliance with France was clearly starting to take its toll on Norway.

“Ya don’t look too well.” Sweden finally said to the man.

“Don’t move.” Norway commanded, his voice shook, but the hand that pointed a gun at him didn’t even waver. From this distance he could make some serious damage with it, so Sweden stayed still but continued to talk. Maybe he could make Norway distracted for a long enough time. This… just couldn’t end like this.

“The tr’de with England and his brothers m’st have been more important to ya than Denmark originally thought, hm? Your people are hungry, the alliance w’th France is the cause of your suffering.”

“None of your business. Just… don’t move or I need to hurt ya again.”

So typical of Denmark, he never thought of the bigger picture, ignored the long-term consequences and acted too recklessly. Sometimes he wondered why Norway had stayed with Denmark back then when he had escaped from the Kalmar union together with Finland. He could have escaped with them, but for some reason he had chosen Denmark – Denmark, whose behavior usually drove him crazy. It didn’t make any sense to Sweden.

“Have ya ever considered sw’tching sides?”

“Not really, especially when the side ya are trying to make me to switch to is currently losing.”

“Ya are h’ngry and tired. Denmark’s decisions are hurting ya m’re than him.”

“I get enough food supplies from him and Russia, I don’t really need the trade. And I will sleep when I have more time again. Just lay there and wait for the soldiers to arrive and we can finally end this war.” 

“Ya can’t deny that the two of us have had our good m’ments, too.” Sweden continued stubbornly. He was fine with ending this war, but not like this. He needed some kind of a trump card for the negotiations first. And the card needed to be so valuable that it had the power to change an outcome of a war.

“That’s true,” Norway said, but shook his head slightly, “But there has also been almost an equal number of bad things. Look, I can’t let you go; this is war, our people would never understand it.”

“So, ya choose Denmark?”

Norway didn’t answer anything to him, but his behavior spoke for itself. In the end, he always chose him, no matter what.

“Do ya happen to know where Denmark is right now?” Sweden asked. A plan was forming in his head, not a perfect one, but a plan nevertheless. He scratched the ground slowly with his right-hand fingers, hoping that Norway wouldn’t notice his silent work.

“He will be here soon. We were sabotaging the area near the border together before ya tried to surprise me… and got surprised yourself.”

“What if I tell ya that I met him first, before I found ya?” Sweden had managed to collect a small pile of gravel and dust under his palm.

“What are ya trying to say…?”

“I’m saying that at the m’ment, your precious Denmark lays somewhere in the f’rest badly wounded.” his reaction to this revelation wasn’t as strong as Sweden had hoped for, but it was there, so he continued.

“We can only h’pe that he’s able to heal himself before wolves f’nd him. Being ripped apart again and again while trying to restore the body is a very n’sty experience.”

And then, for a second, Norway’s eyes turned away from Sweden to look into the forest. Without hesitation, he took advantage of the situation; he threw the gravel he had secretly collected straight at his face, completely blinding him for a moment. Before he got his eyesight back, Sweden jumped up and punched him in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. He fell on the ground, desperately coughing for some air.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t really m’t Denmark yet.” Sweden comforted his victim as he picked up the gun from the ground. It looked like he had managed to capture himself the trump card he had hoped for just a moment ago.

“We will soon see how m’ch ya are worth for your allies. Get up.” Sweden said to the nation who was still coughing on the ground, “We can’t stay here if your s’ldiers are on the way over here.”

His words made Norway to chuckle dryly, “Do ya really thing Russia will change his plans because ya managed to capture me? And only me, not even my lands? Ya can’t even try to sell me to him this way. Not going to happen.”

“That’s Denmark’s pr’blem. He just needs to make some sort of a deal with Russia if he w’nts ya back.”

“Then ya have to carry me. I think ya broke something vital when ya hit me…” Norway managed to say, his eyes were still watery from the sand, “And I heal really slowly right now, ya were right when ya said that I’m in a terrible shape.”

Norway’s condition must have been even worse than he had originally thought, Sweden wondered in his mind. He was just about to lend him a hand so that he could help him to get up when he felt sharp pain somewhere around his left shoulder. He wasn’t sure did he yell in agony, he didn’t even know how he ended on the ground but there he was again. But the pain, it didn’t stop. Red dots flickered in the corners of his eyes as he tried his best to stay conscious.

“Hello Sweden. I have been looking all over for you, but here you are just chatting with that little one.”

“R…Russia…” Sweden groaned when he saw the cause of his current pain. He couldn’t have guessed that he had advanced this far of his north already. He saw the huge nation to walk over to Norway, a dagger that’s blade was covered with his blood on his right hand. Oh, how much he hated stab wounds, his confused mind cursed somewhere deep in his brains.

“Good for you that I happened to be around.” he said to Norway who got up without much effort and just nodded at him. It wasn’t hard to guess that he had seen Russia long before Sweden had, and only played to be too weak to move. He had underestimated his smaller neighbor once again.

“Are you ready to give up, or do you want to be humiliated even more?” Russia turned to look at Sweden again, smiling at him happily. The cheerful tone conflicted badly with the subject of the question.

“I want ya… to g’ve Finland back to me first…”

“I’m sorry, that’s impossible.”

“What do ya mean? What have ya done to him?” Sweden tried to concentrate all his energy to heal the wound. If only he wouldn’t been so tired…

“Nothing, he’s fine. Why you always think the worst of me, Sweden? I mean, have you ever considered that maybe he doesn’t want to come back to you? It would be cruel to force him to return.”

“Doesn’t want to…?”

“That’s right!” Russia crouched himself down on his level, Norway just stayed still, looking at the both of them silently, “You have probably already heard how he _perfectly willingly_ swore an oath of allegiance to my ruler some months ago, an oath of allegiance to me?”

“Th’t doesn’t mean anything! Ya could have easily f’rced him to do so!” Sweden raised his voice, but realized soon it was a bad idea, it made the pain in his upper back so much worse.

“Then how did the strongest fortress here in the north surrendered, just like that? Let me tell you a secret,” he smiled at him jovially and then leaned to whisper the message to his ear, like making sure the words would really sink in his consciousness, “It really is invincible in the right hands. There is no way to conquer it with weapons. It was him, Sweden. He let me in.”

“Ya are lying! He would never do something like th’t!”

“Are you sure?” Russia continued to smile at him, usually he liked smiling faces, but this was one smile he really hated, “He has done so before, do you remember? I’m sure you do, I almost made him a kingdom! He is a nation; he can’t help it. He longs for more power, and if he can’t get it from you, he will search it from somewhere else, I’m sure deep down you know that.”

“Then why are ya still harassing me? If Finland w’nts to stay with you, which I doubt, why didn’t ya bring him here to say that to me personally?”

“Would you listen to him? Or would you try to make that decision for him, like you always seem to do? And, Russia still needs to convince you to stop trading with England and his brothers. That’s the main reason for this war, after all, Finland is just a small prize for the hard work you forced me to do, even though I’m still busy fighting the Ottoman empire, too.” 

Two fronts war, Russia was fighting a two fronts war and still didn’t show any sign of fatigue, Sweden’s tired mind screamed at him, tortured him inside his own head so there was no escape. And Finland… he couldn’t believe what Russia had said about Finland. Finland was afraid of Russia, why would he rely on him if he wanted something more than what Sweden was able to offer to him? He had done so before, but it was because he was forced to do so… he would have never… or would he…?

No matter what, he needed more time to heal if he wanted to escape both of them. And that he was lacking. His people were suffering without any hope in sight. There was only one way to out of this situation.

“You’re right, I can’t cont’nue like this.” he groaned. Blurting out those words felt like one of the hardest things he had ever done.

“What did you say? Sorry, I didn’t hear you?” Russia asked, making Sweden to glance at him angrily. He was sure the man had heard him the first time, but just wanted to humiliate him some more.

“I said I s’rrender! I will persuade my boss to st’p trading with England and the rest of his r’latives. Happy now?”

“Good boy.” Russia patted his head before he stood up and continued with a lot less playful tone, “Send me a message when your king is ready to negotiate with me, don’t let me wait for too long unless you want to be occupied, too. You will find me from northern parts of your lovely place.”

Sweden staid there, lying on the ground, watching as two of his enemies walked farther away from him. This was only temporary peace, he swore to himself. He would get a new king soon, and then would be the time for payback.


	6. Chapter 6

**26th of August, 1812 - Sweden**

“Finland.”

Russia chuckled at his answer. He had probably already guessed what he would ask from Russia, what would be the cost of alliance with him.

“Are you trying to take advantage of my weak moment? No, ask something else. I’m sure your new boss has given you more choices to ask from.”

Yes, his new boss had done that, his new _French_ boss, France’s former general. No wonder Russia wanted him to ally with him now, he was probably afraid that his king was still loyal to France, now that the mentioned country had declared war at Russia and his troops advanced rapidly on his lands. He couldn’t be more wrong though, for some reason also this new king of his hated Napoleon. 

“Å-Åland.” he hesitated for a moment before he managed to say that. If he couldn’t get Finland back right now, then at least something would be better than nothing.

“Huh?” Russia definitely hadn’t expected that, Sweden noticed.

“It’s an arch’pelago near Finland. It’s… it’s not really part of Finland, it’s a small piece of me and who kn’ws what will happen if it stays separated from me for too long.”

“I know what you mean, but what you told me is interesting. You know, I think I want to find out what will happen.” Russia smiled at him.

“But…”

“No, Sweden. Don’t ask for anything that’s _mine_. I know there is something you have pursued already some time now. All you need to do is to side with me, and I can help you to keep him after the war. Don’t pretend you don’t know who I mean.

“Norway.” Sweden almost whispered his name.

**9th of June, 1815 - Finland**

There they were, in a large room that was decorated with good taste and the latest European trends. He wasn’t sure what made him to sneak closer, maybe it was just his curiosity that drove him to see this treachery with his very own eyes. No more rumors or stories by Russia, just the pure truth, was it bitter or not.

A big black piano dominated the otherwise light-colored room and there he was, sitting elegantly on the piano chair. He did not look at the direction of the piano, no, his gaze was concentrated on the shorter man standing in front of him. Their faces were so close to each other their noses almost touched.

Sweden and Norway. They both looked great, almost like they both were part of the pretty room’s interior wearing their fancy clothes which fitted perfectly for today’s meeting. For a moment Finland was sure he saw their lips move closer. He turned to look at a nearby vase full of edelweiss flowers and was already considering of tossing it down to make some noise, until he realized his own imagination was only tricking him. They weren’t going to kiss, it looked rather like they were having a heated argument about something.

instinctively, he walked closer to the doorframe. He still wasn’t sure why, he definitely didn’t want accidentally hear any details about their new marriage. He hated to admit it still hurt. Hurt so damn badly.

“Why ya alw’ys need to be so d’fficult?” Sweden took of his glasses and rubbed his eye with his other hand, he looked tired and maybe a little bit irritated, Finland noticed.

“Me? Ya dare to call _me_ the difficult one?” Norway snapped back at him, losing his usually calm appearance. 

“Austria t’ld me he caught ya with Denmark today…”

“Are ya going to monitor my every movement from now on? I just wanted to say my goodbyes to him.”

“In Austria’s clos’t?” Sweden accused.

“Maybe it was a Danish way to say goodbyes. Have ya even considered that?” Norway answered, like trying to challenge him.

“Really? He only p’nched me for goodbyes back th’n.” He answered back calmly.

“Look, ya can’t just kidnap someone from someone else's arms and then except them to be forever loyal to ya. I won’t be your little spoil of war who obeys your every little whim.”

“And I already t’ld you I’m ready to g’ve ya some space and everything else ya want. But that kind of b’havior makes us look weak in the eyes of others. It’s d’ngerous.”

“Guess what? I don’t give a damn.” Norway said and was about to leave the room. Before he was able to do so, Sweden grabbed him by arm, causing Finland to startle. He really shouldn’t listen to this, this was no business of his, not anymore. But for some reason he couldn’t move.

“Are ya g’ing to cause a ruckus in today’s meeting?” Sweden asked, strengthening his grip on his arm while he did so.

“What if I am? Are ya going to start a new war against me? Punish me? Guess what, ya already did so! Or do ya have some new ways to hurt me?” Norway asked, trying to sound indifferent, but the tone of his voice wasn’t very convincing, there was a hint of fear in it this time. That was very unusual.

So unusual it made Sweden to let go of his arm. Then he bowed his head towards the floor, and turned his gaze away from Norway. It looked like he didn’t want to answer to the question. Norway looked at him for a moment, like wanting to say something now that he had found his weakness, but then he decided otherwise and just walked away from him.

Finland tried to squeeze himself closer to the wall, hoping to merge with it so Norway wouldn’t notice him when he walked past him. He was ready to let out a sigh of relief when Norway didn’t turn around and continued to walk forward, but then his breath froze in his lungs.

“By the way, Sweden, it looks like Finland has something to say to ya, too.”

No, no, no! He didn’t want to see Sweden, he didn’t want to fall apart in front of him. On the other hand, it would be embarrassing to escape now when Sweden already knew he was here. He peeked cautiously from the door, and immediately met Sweden’s gaze. At least he seemed to be equally nervous to meet Finland again.

“Hi… Sweden. I… just happened be around and… I wasn’t supposed to listen, but… I kind of listened anyway.”

“Hm.” Sweden just nodded his head. For some reason Finland decided to walk to him even though his brains screamed at him, they told him to turn around and leave. He wanted so badly to ask him what had happened back then, where had he been, but he was too afraid of the answer. Sometimes ignorance really was a bliss.

“Austria’s place is really nice, don’t you think? I arrived here with Russia and Bessarabia already a few days ago. Have you already met Bessarabia? He’s a tiny boy whose brown hair is like an untamed field of grass, and those sharp teeth of his apparently run in the family. He used to live with Ottoman before… well, before he, um, moved in with Russia, and I don’t actually know is he really called Bessarabia, but Russia calls him that and….” Finland laughed, chatting like everything was just fine between the two of them.

Sweden shook his head slightly and then got up from the chair. For a moment Finland thought he would be the one who would bolt from the room, but then he walked closer to him, so close Finland’s heart started to beat faster.

“Are ya alright? Has Russia hurt ya.” he finally asked from Finland.

“I’m fine. He has actually been pretty nice, helping me with things I still don’t understand.” Finland answered truthfully. Physically he was fine, but his mental state was still a mess.

“Why?” Sweden asked, and now his question sounded almost like an accusation to Finland’s ears, “Why he has g’ven ya so m’ch freedom? Why are ya so loyal to him?”

The tone of his voice made Finland feel annoyed. Why did he sound so… jealous, for a lack of the better word? Sweden was the one who left him to his mercy and then married Norway! Why has he given so much freedom to Norway? Shouldn’t he be the angry one?

He was just about to tell this to him when Sweden leaned towards him, making the words get caught in his throat. He looked the same as when Finland had still thought that he knew him through and through. His intense eyes looked at him the same way, and before he even realized it, their lips pressed together.

The familiar feeling of his warm lips was so overwhelming it made goosebumps to raise on his neck. Their tender kiss turned soon hungrier, he felt how Sweden’s body pressed closer to his, like desperately wanting to unite two halves that weren’t supposed to be separated back together. His hands caressed Finland’s back while his own arms wrapped behind his neck.

They really shouldn’t do this, Finland thought when his back hit the piano, not here where everyone could see them. Sweden’s hands slid under his shirt and the temptation increased. Sweden moved to kiss his neck, his soft kisses lingered on his skin, moving slowly downwards, making Finland to return to the very same day when they had met for the last time. When Sweden had supposed to leave to Stockholm, but he had decided to stay for one more day… Had he imagined Norway in his place already back then? Was he like this also with Norway now, the nasty thoughts intruder Finland’s mind once again. When Sweden’s restless hands started to open the buttons of his shirt, Finland finally pushed him away.

“S-stop.” he told to him, waking also Sweden from the spell which had bewitched them just a moment ago.

“We can’t… First you get rid of me and marry Norway, and when it turns out he isn’t very cooperative, you think you can continue your old life with me while still being married with him?” Finland asked as he buttoned his shirt. 

“Get rid of ya? B’t…” Sweden asked, looking now confused. Was he trying to pretend that he had amnesia now and just forgot Finland in the middle of the war and accidentally married Norway then? If he was, it wasn't working, Finland thought. But before Sweden was able to continue, he was interrupted.

“Oh, there you are Finland!” Russia waved from the door, “Austria told me you said you were going to help Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia in the kitchen, but here you are instead. Did Sweden need your help more than Austria’s little housemaids and a servant boy?”

“No!” Finland was sure his face was bright red, it felt like it was burning, “I just wanted some own time and then I met Sweden here.” Well, at least that was the truth. He couldn’t help but wonder how long Russia had stood there, smiling jovially at the both of them.

“I’m sorry Sweden, but I need to steal Finland from you now,” Russia nodded at Sweden, causing the corners of his mouth to twitch slightly when he said that, “There are some things I need to tell to him and Bessarabia before the grand meeting starts. We all want it to go smoothly and without unnecessary interruptions, right?”

“I und’rstand.” Sweden said with a voice that didn’t sound very understanding, but he didn’t protest, “I need to t’lk with Norway, too.”

“Ah, right! Excuse me for my rudeness, I guess I still haven’t congratulated you personally.” Russia smiled, “New unions aren’t formed very often, I hope you and Norway will be happy together.”

“Thank ya.” Sweden mumbled, “Congratulations for your v’ctory against France.”

Russia nodded at Sweden and then lifted his hand to indicate Finland to follow him. Finland walked to him and then followed him to the corridor. For some time, they walked in silence, Finland stared at his almost silvery hair and hoped that he wouldn’t say anything about what had just happened with Sweden. But then he suddenly stopped, making Finland almost bump into him, and turned around with an expression on his face that told Finland that his hope was in vain.

“You were wise when you didn’t let that continue… it would have been twice as embarrassing for you when I would have finally interrupted you.”

So, he had been there the whole time, just observing what he would do. So very typical of him, Finland thought, and tried to avoid his mischievous gaze. Russia tilted his chin up to force him to meet his eyes.

“I give you more freedom and don’t demand much from you. But in exchange for that, I except extremely obedience in those occasions when I want something from you. Being Sweden’s lollipop doesn’t belong to your liberties.”

“I... I know. The situation was perfectly under control.”

“It didn’t look like it.” Russia said almost in a singing tune and a smug expression on his face, but at least he let go of his chin. He had been in good mood ever since he had started to recover from all the wars he had taken part in, and after the defeat of France, he was truly recognized as an equal power among the other European great powers.

“And Sweden should know better, too. He was given a new shiny toy, but now he wants to play also with the old one which he already abandoned and which doesn’t belong to him anymore.”                          

“I agree.” Finland murmured.

“Good. I hope you also agree to be a good boy in the meeting. I have to take you and Bessarabia with me, but I will do all the talking there, do you understand?” his voice sounded friendly enough, but most likely he would not have taken no for an answer. Finland just nodded.

What would he say there anyway? He had nowhere else to go, no place he could demand to return to. He had to accept this as his future now and act accordingly. 

 

**9th of June, 1815 – Sweden**

Sweden was almost relieved that all of this would be over soon. No more wars, dance parties, or random congratulations for their new union.

He sighed and looked around, most countries were already sitting at the small round tables that were placed in the huge room, but some were still trying to figure out the seating order. Finland was already there too, he was sitting at one of the tables which were located near the table reserved for the Big Four-countries with a young-looking nation. Bessarabia, perhaps?

He didn’t turn to look at him, no matter how long Sweden stared at him, dressed in the colors of Russia’s huge empire. White, blue and red didn’t suit him at all, Sweden thought absentmindedly, and then glanced at Norway who sat at the same table with him. He had been awfully quiet after their argument. He couldn’t blame him for that, but they really needed to figure this arrangement out at some point.

He followed Norway’s gaze to the table where Denmark’s group sat. Denmark looked back at Sweden quite murderously, but Norway wasn’t looking at Denmark.

“I lost all of them because of ya…” he whispered when he noticed what Sweden was looking at, meaning Iceland, Faroe and Greenland.

“Ya didn’t ex’ctly thought about my feelings or my loss either.” Sweden answered to his accusation. Norway simply nodded, there was really nothing else to say about the matter.

Talking, random yelling and laugher in the room faded all the sudden when the big doors were opened. England, who was here to present not only himself but his brothers too, Russia, Prussia and Austria walked in the room. They were the great victors of these wars, simply nicknamed as the Big Four, the ones who everybody had been waiting for to arrive to the meeting. After them arrived France, who despite his defeat was allowed to sit at the same table as them.

But not him, Sweden thought, he had to sit at a different table despite being on the side of the victors, for which he had been rewarded with Norway. The final reminder of the fact that the most prestige he had had during his empire had been long forgotten. He was counted as a small country now. For some reason, also that felt almost a relief. He hoped his new boss would understand it, too.

“Can I have your attention?” Austria raised his voice and tinkled a bell which Czechia had brought to him after the noise in the room went up again. Some former victims of France didn’t seem to be happy about him sitting there like nothing had happened.

“Shut the hell up!” Prussia finally shouted when nobody seemed to listen the friendly request, gaining everyone’s attention by hitting his fist on the table at the same time.

“Brutal, but I must admit, very effective too.” Austria sneered at Prussia, but the smirking country ignored him. That was a perfect description of Prussia, Sweden thought. He wasn’t sure was it good for Europe - or the world - that these particular countries were at the top right now, but it was just something they all had to accept.

“At first, I want to inform everybody that our dear friend and colleague didn’t survive these war-filled years. Holy Roman Empire has passed away, and I suggest that we have a brief moment of silence in the memory of him.”

Somebody in the room sobbed loudly, breaking the silence that Austria had wanted, but Sweden didn’t recognize the stuffy voice. Holy Roman Empire had been weak even before the wars had started, but Sweden hadn’t even realized that the situation had been so bad. It was a rare occasion for one of their kind to disappear completely, but they had to believe it because nobody had seen him ever since. After a few minutes, England started to get impatient and wanted to get to the point, which apparently was punishing France.

“ _Everything_ must be returned to the original state and _anyone_ who allied with France shouldn’t benefit in it in any way.” England declared, making some countries nod in agreement.

“Ah, England.” Russia interrupted him, moving his hand on his shoulder much to the country’s dismay, “Not everything. I have already agreed with Sweden and Ottoman about some little readjustments,” he continued and everyone turned slowly to glance at the table were Finland and Bessarabia were sitting, “And I refuse to talk about them here.”

Sweden looked at Finland again. There he was, sitting obediently in place, calmly listening how England muttered something about exceptions that could be made in Russia’s case. No objections, nothing. Had it really been him who gave the fortress away? Was this what he had really wanted, to be someone’s obedient puppet? Had he really been so unhappy with him?

“Anyway,” England said, trying to gather his thoughts, “We want to give these traitors a fair chance to defend themselves. Denmark, you first, the stage is yours.”

Denmark got up from his chair, looking at England almost as angrily as he had looked at Sweden. “My punishment is way too harsh, cruel even, compared to the ‘crime’ I committed. Ya can’t seriously except me to accept the loss of Norway!”   

“You were given Swedish Pomerania as compensation, it was a very generous offer on our part.” Austria pointed out.

“Nothing can compensate him! And ya,” he pointed at England again, “Ya attacked me first!”

Denmark continued his angry rant for a while, blaming Sweden of destroying their union and demanding justice.

Yes, he had done that. But was there such thing as justice? Maybe they could have asked that from Poland, who had been dragged into the room next, restrained because he had refused to calm down when he had heard that they would hand him over to Austria, Prussia and Russia. His very reason to ally with France had been to escape from them. Now his lands belonged to them again, and his very being was given to Russia.

This was the new reality they all had to learn to live in. Sweden was now only a half of what he used to be, and he and Norway would need to learn to make this work out somehow. They would need a lot of time and patience, that was sure, but maybe it was meant to be this way? Maybe he meeting Finland had been a mistake that had never supposed to happen and the fate was now correcting itself with the cruelest way? It would be a blessing to be able to forget everything someday.

The meeting seemed to continue for hours, quarreling about pieces of land was always a sensitive topic for them, but finally came the moment when everyone seemed to be, if not happy, then at least ready to accept the status quo… at least for now.

When everyone else started to leave from the room, he found himself unable to move. He just looked at Finland, who soon disappeared from his sight and already earlier from his life.

He wasn’t sure did he really want to forget him…


End file.
